In order to participate in the 7th Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Summit of Heads of State and Government, President Cyril Ramaphosa has traveled to the Republic of Botswana on a working visit.
Ebrahim Patel, the minister of trade and industry, David Masondo, the deputy minister of finance, and Edward Kieswetter, the commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, are with the president.
Heads of State and Government as well as representatives from SACU Member States will be present at the summit, which will take place at the Gaborone International Convention Center.
Members include the Republic of Botswana, which is hosting the summit and serving as the Union’s current chair, as well as the Kingdoms of Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa.
The SACU, the oldest customs union in the world, holds a summit every year to talk about how its Work Programme is being carried out.
The summit this year will look at the development of the refocused Work Programme.
The following are among the program’s priorities:
the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area; industrialization through the creation of regional value chains, investor attraction, and export promotion; regional financing mechanisms; trade facilitation and logistics; and (AfCFTA).
According to a statement from the Presidency, “the summit will further evaluate the five-year SACU Strategic Plan, as adopted by the Council of Ministers on 2 June 2022.”
The meetings of its institutions, including: are held before to the summit.
• 68th Meeting of the SACU Commission: 23–24 June 2022; • 47th Meeting of the SACU Council of Ministers: 28–29 June 2022; • 64th Meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee: 22 June 2022.